Before we get right down to it and discuss the five things small and medium-sized businesses should outsource, let’s take a quick look at the differences between SMBs and large corporations. It should be clear to anyone how small- and medium-sized businesses differ from big businesses and large corporations. The most obvious aspects include—of course—the size of the business, the legal structure of the business, business financing, and market niche, among many others.

But this article will not dwell on those differences nor take a closer look at each of them. What this post will focus on, as mentioned, are five things that small- and medium-sized businesses can outsource.

We can focus a bit here, however, on the financing of the business in that for a startup, small business, or medium-sized business, any reduction in overhead costs obviously frees up resources to help focus on organizational growth. One way this can be done is through outsourcing.

Now, you may think, “Outsourcing is not for my company, it’s more suited for big corporations.” Nothing could be further from the truth. While it’s true that larger companies have more financial flexibility when it comes to outsourcing tasks—or even entire departments for that matter—startups or SMBs, if they play their cards right, can make outsourcing work for them. One way of doing this is picking and choosing the right positions to outsource.

Without further ado, here are five things that small- and medium-sized businesses can outsource.

Payroll

This is one of the most obvious things that an SMB can outsource, and for good reason. Not only is payroll one of the most tedious but most important part of a business, it can also be one of its most challenging—there are a lot of numerous requirements, regulations and tax laws that you need to be highly familiar with. And one simple mistake with your payroll may result in tax audits and can cost your company thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars.

So instead of handling your own company’s payroll, or paying for a huge overhead of a team of full-time in-house accountants, why not consider outsourcing? A reputable and reliable outsourcing provider who has years of experience will, for sure, be familiar with the tax laws and regulations of the company they will be servicing, so you don’t have to worry about that aspect. Outsourcing providers who specialize in payroll services will help you avoid costly mistakes associated with payroll and will save you time and money.

Bookkeeping

Again, another no-brainer. This company function nowadays is best outsourced. Why? Similar to payroll, bookkeeping is painstaking and time-consuming. Not to mention the fact that everything about a company’s books should be of utmost confidentiality.

Indeed, there are a few things that should be more private in a company than its books or internal records. This is information that you as a small- or medium-sized business owner should keep confidential and secure. And looking for a bookkeeper that you can trust can be a challenge. In fact, hiring an in-house bookkeeper, most of the time, won’t be in your best interests. Why? Would you honestly want to hire a local bookkeeper who knows your company’s financial health?

So the answer here is to—obviously, for peace of mind—outsource your bookkeeping.

Online Content Marketing

Online content marketing, in this Internet age, should not be overlooked by a company, especially by startups and SMBs. For fledgeling companies, it’s a must to educate your target audience about your brand with easy-to-digest content without getting too “sales-y.” This is the value of content marketing, but small- and medium-sized companies might not have the money and resources to hire a dedicated team of in-house content marketers.

The answer is outsourcing. You can start by tapping a single writer. You can always outsource more positions for your content marketing as the business grows.

Lead Generation

Another company function that’s ideal for outsourcing is lead generation. This is because while other departments are best suited to be filled in with local in-house positions, lead generation is unique. A good lead-generation specialist who is Google AdWords certified can do his or her job well and generate good-quality leads for your company, regardless of industry, no matter the location.

Administrative Tasks

Ever heard of virtual assistants? The past few years they’ve been the rage because virtual assistants—if hired through a reputable outsourcing company—can do a thorough job when it comes to taking care of your scheduling and administrative tasks. When you hire a virtual assistant, you pay only for the hours wherein admin tasks are handled. Imagine eliminating wasted hours spent on setting up appointments, replying to emails, and other repetitive tasks.

These are the five things small and medium businesses should outsource. So what are you waiting for?